Throughout the last several months, there has been much attention paid to the fledgling ESPN morning show Get Up as it tries to do just that in the ratings department. Despite a lot of hype, a lot of advertising, and a lot of dollars being thrown at the show to give ESPN a unique morning show staple, the show has struggled to get off the ground. And already there are reports of significant changes that may come to the show if it doesn’t show some positive momentum by the time football season rolls around.
Well, that time is rapidly approaching as we’ve passed the MLB All-Star Game and training camps and the NFL preseason are now right around the corner.
And according to a report from The Big Lead, those changes are on the way as ESPN is considering adding a rotating guest host that would join Mike Greenberg, Michelle Beadle, and Jalen Rose for one day a week. The two names thrown out that are specifically mentioned are definitely football related – Adam Schefter on the NFL side and Paul Finebaum on the college football side.
As the theory goes, a new guest host would join the program for a defined day of the week. So you could see Schefter on Mondays, Finebaum on Tuesdays, another NFL analyst on Wednesdays, etc.
This isn’t necessarily a new idea for Get Up. Already we’ve seen ESPN make an external push to promote guest hosts on Get Up like Alex Rodriguez last month. And the tactic of adding guest hosts or rotating cast members is something that was discussed frequently for Greenberg’s last show, Mike & Mike. Molly Qerim was added to Mike & Mike after many months of speculation and the show often had extended guest spots with the likes of Cris Carter and others.
Is this really an answer for Get Up? It’s hard to project at this point, but the addition of additional cast members really didn’t do much for Mike & Mike. Then again, that was a long-existing partnership between Greenberg and Golic whereas Get Up is young enough that a change in on-set personnel and chemistry could be just what the show needs to get jump started.
The challenge just might be for ESPN to find five separate individuals who could pull this off and really add a new element to the show. Schefter is the most accomplished reporter covering the NFL today and could provide a mountain of insights on a Monday morning after a full slate of NFL games. And Finebaum would definitely stir up debate and reaction in talking about college football.
If ESPN does go through with this idea it would be refreshing if the program gave some new opportunities to individuals to showcase what they can do in spreading their wings. Taylor Twellman featured frequently during the World Cup and Zach Lowe likewise during free agency. Perhaps those could be two names that would be worthy of expanded roles?
The rotating spot may not be the ideal solution, especially on a permanent basis, but perhaps in the process ESPN may unearth a diamond in the rough that could light a spark in Get Up for the short and long term.
